Sliding door arrangement



March 14, 1933. P. F. KING SLIDING DOOR ARRANGEMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 1 March 14, 1933. P. F. KING 1,901,304

SLIDING DOOR ARRANGEMENT Filed Feb. 9, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 clam;

March 14, 1933. KlNG 1,901,304

SLIDING DOOR ARRANGEMENT Fil d F 9, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gwuewtozPatented Mar. 14, 1933 UNITED a oral-cs PATRICK IF. KING, OF NEWBRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG'NOR TO THE STANLEY WORKS,

OF NEW BRITAIN, "CONNECTICUT, .A COIt]?ORATION OF CONNECTICUT SLIDINGnoon ARRANGEMENT.

Application'filed Februar'y 9, 1931. Serial No. 514,426.

doors of comparatively large dimensions.

and massive weight and to mount the several doors on separate tracks,the tracks extending across the doorway and being positioned one behindthe other. This practice is open to numerous objections anddisadvantages, among which may be mentioned the relatively large amountof space occupied by the tracks and which space, as far as housing ofthe aircraft is concerned, is practically wasted. In some cases, thedistance between the front and the rear tracks is as great as threefeet. The laying of a plurality of tracks and the installation ofcorresponding overhead tracks entail relatively large expense for thematerials employed and also for the construction work.

The present invention has as its object the provision of an improvedconstruction wherein the number of tracks within the hangar doorway isreduced to a minimum, and the doors may be brought into position onebehind the other at one side of the hangar without increasing the widthof the doorway or the extent to which the doors,

when in open position, extend beyond the side of the hangar. To theseends, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, asingle supporting track within the doorway adapted to hold a number ofdoors end to end, and at one end of the supporting track is a carrieradapted to be moved to successive positions so, as to receive the doorsin a relation one behind the other.

. My improved construction is a very simple one wherein the doors maybevery easily and conveniently moved to shut or open only so. much of thelatter being illustrated positions as desired, and the space occupied bythe doors within the hangar opening is relatively small. My, improved.arrangement may be installed at a lesser cost than the arrangements nowgenerally employed.

4 Other objects will be in part obvious, and

in partpointed out more in detail hereinafter. 7 y

. The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the s copeofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, the improvements of the present inventionare shown more or less digrammatically as being incorporated in anaircraft hangar,

as'is necessary for a complete understanding of the invention. g

In these drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevationa-l view of one end of thehangar, and illustrates two doors as being supported by the track in thehangar doorway, and one door as having been moved to complete openposition;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view looking at one a side of the truck orcarriage onto which three of the doors have been slid; and

Fig. 3'is a top plan view of what is shown in Fi 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 9 designates one side wall of thehangar; 10, the roof; and 11, the concrete floor thereof. The numerals12, 18, and 14 designate the several doors mounted on rollers or wheels15 of anysuitable number. These rollers are more or lessdiagrammatically illustrated as the construction thereof forms no partof the present invention. Rollers of this type are old and well known inthe art. Each door may have at its top edge suitable horizontallydisposed rollers 16. i

Embedded in the floor 11 of the hangar and in the doorway thereof is asupporting track 20, which may be of the usualI-beam I Positioned at thetop of the doorway and in vertical alignment with the supporting track20 is an overhead track 21 which may be of the usual box type. Thistrack is adapted to receive the overhead rollers 16 in such manner thatthe rollers engage the vertical walls of the track at diametricallyopposite points.

To one side of the hangar is a concrete foundation 25, the upper surfaceof which is below the surface of the floor 11, and can bedded in thisfoundation are two spaced apart parallel tracks 26 which are disposed atan angle to the track 20. In the present instance, the tracks 26 are atright angles to" the track 20, and they run rearwardlyv along the sideof the hangar. t the forward and rear ends of the tracks 26 are suitablestops or buifers 27. Mounted upon the tracks 26 is a truck or carriageof any suitable construction. By preference, the frame of the truck isof skeleton frame, the framememhers being designated by the numerals 28.The truck, at opposite sides, has pairs of wheels 29, respectivelyriding on the tracks 26. Mounted on and extending transversely of thetruck is a plurality of supporting tracks 30 of a construction identicalto the track 20 and located at the same height as 30, and of likeconstruction as the overhead track 21. These tracks 31 are so positionedthat they may be brought successively into exact alignment with theoverhead track 21.

Any suitable means may be employed for moving the truck to its severalpositions so as to receive and deliver the doors. For example, one ofthe bottom side sills of the truck may have a rack 35 with which meshesa pinion 36 fixed to a shaft 37 mounted in suitable fixed bearings 38.This shaft may extend through the side wall 9 of the hangar. On theother end of the shaft 37 is a suitable ratchet wheel 39 with whichcooperates a pawl 40 operatively associated with a lever 41. By movingthe lever 41 back and forth, the shaft 37 is turned inone direction orthe other, as the case may be, so as to move thetruck. There may beprovided, at the top of the truck and above the overhead tracks 31, asuitable shroud or canopy 42 for protecting the tracks against rain andsnow. This canopy is shown in Fig. 2 but is omitted from theotherfigures. V f

The operation of my improved arrangement will be clear from theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. t will be observed that, when the hangar is closed, all of thedoors are positioned on the track 20 in end to end relation. When it isdesired to open the hangar, the endmost door is slid onto one of thetracks 30 of the truck; then the truck is moved to bring another track30 into alignment with the track 20, and the second door is moved ontothe truck, and so on until all of the doors have been moved onto thetruck.

To close the hangar door, the operation is reversed.

As in It is also to be understood that the language used inthe'following claims is in tended to cover all of the generic andspecific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements ofthe scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be saidto fall therebetween.

\Vhat is claimed is:

1. A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like,comprising asupporting track adapted to receive a plurality of doors in end to endrelation, a truck located at one end of said track and movable at anangle thereto, and a plurality of tracks on said truck one behind theother and adapted to be respectively brought into registry with saidfirst mentioned track.

2. A door arrangement for hangars and the like, comprising atrackadapted to receive a plurality of doors in end to end relation, a trucklocated at one end of said track and movable at an angle thereto, saidtruck'having a plurality of tracks one behind the other and each of suchlength as to support a single door, said'last mentioned tracks beingarranged to be respectively brought into'alignment with said firstmentioned track.

3. A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like, comprising asupporting track and an overhead track in vertical alignment therewith,a plurality of doors adapted to rest on said supporting track and to beguided at their upper ends by said overhead track, and a truck at oneend of said tracks and having a plurality of supporting tracks onebehind the other at sub stantially the same level as said firstsupporting track, said truck also havingv a plurality of overhead tracksrespectively associated with said supporting tracks and adapted to berespectively brought into alignment with said first mentioned overheadtrack, and means for supporting said truck for movement at right anglesto said tracks.

4. A' door arrangement for aircraft aircraft sociated with saidsupporting tracks and located at one end of said track and movable at anangle thereto, and a plurality of substantially straight tracks on saidtruck disposed in parallel relation to one another one behind the (other:and adapted to be respectively brought into registry with said firstmentioned track;

PATRICK F. KING.

adapted to be brought into alignment with said first mentioned overheadtrack, and

means for supporting said truck for movement at right angles to saidtracks. r

5. A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like, comprising astructure having a floor and a doorway, a track on said floor andlocated in said doorway and adapted to receive a plurality of doors, anoverhead tracln in said doorway, a plurality of doors'adapted to ride onsaid supporting track and to be guided by said overhead track in end toend relation, a pair of truck tracks at right, angles to at one end of,and on the level below said supporting track, a truck provided withwheels engaging on said last mentioned tracks, relatively short trackson said truck extending in the same direction as and located at the samelevel as said first mentioned supporting track, said short tracks beingpositioned one behind the other and each adapted to receive a singledoor,

and a plurality of overhead tracks on said truck respectively associatedwith said short tracks and adapted to be brought into linear alignmentwith said first mentioned overhead track.

6. A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like, comprising asupporting track adapted to receive a plurality of doors in end to endrelation, a truck located at one end of said track and movable at anangle thereto, a plurality of tracks on said truck one behind the otherand adapted to be respectively brought into registry with said firstmentioned track, and means for moving said truck.

7 A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like, comprising astructure having a doorway provided with a supporting track and anoverhead track, a truck located at one side of said structure and havinga plurality of tracks one behind the other and substantially at the samelevel as said first mentioned supporting track, said truck also havingoverhead tracks respectively associated with said supporting tracks andadapted to be brought into alignment with said first mentioned overheadtrack, means for supporting said truck for movement at right angles tosaid tracks, and means for moving said truck. I

8. A door arrangement for aircraft hangars and the like, comprising acommon supporting track adapted to receive a plurality of doors in endto end relation, a truck

